


Stormy Weather

by phantomrose



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Edited down, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not Beta Read, Sexual Tension, Wasn't a fan of the last chapter, angsty reno, confused Rude, dealing with emotions poorly, rating has gone up, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25592233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomrose/pseuds/phantomrose
Summary: 3 weeks since the mission in Kalm. He now had the added realisation that he was deeply attracted to his partner and the complete certainty that at that moment he’d chosen wrong. They had promised to never mention it again, that things would go back to normal between them, but they definitely had not.___________Rude and Reno are on a mission with tensions running high between them. Rude wants things back to normal but doesn't know how to broach the issue they're not talking about. Then a blast from Reno's past emerges.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started of life as a mission fic but sort of went sideways. 
> 
> Not beta read sorry.
> 
> Completed finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start

Stage 1

From the first introduction, Rude had found Reno pretty, pretty but obnoxious. For all the constant stream of chatter, the juvenile practical jokes and general penchant for mischief, his new partner had been quick, confident and deadly; so Rude had still counted himself lucky. But after a while, working, travelling and almost dying together, he had managed to see the other side of his partner. He discovered that the man could be occasionally patient, frequently kind and wielding a sharp wit that had Rude in the kind of stitches that hardly anyone would believe he was capable of; one of very few people who had ever been able to do that. The only one who he could still count amongst his friends. That sense of tolerance had grown to shared respect, then mutual trust and then an airtight friendship. Or at least had.

Reno was always a touchy feely guy, physically demonstrative by nature. He was generous with hugs and congratulatory pats. But Rude had always felt that with him it had been ... more? Casual pats that ended in a slight caress, enthusiastic hugs that lasted a few seconds longer than friendship would explain and of course spending most of his time in Rude’s company, even off the clock.

And Rude had welcomed it. It would have been humiliating how pathetic the whole thing was if he thought anyone would have noticed. Or cared. He could see himself for what he was; an awkward, lonely recruit, isolated from his peers and starved of any human touch that was not violence, he had gravitated towards Reno's fire like a flower towards the sun. The desire to be around his partner. The way his heart leapt in his chest every morning he was met with a bright wide smile and a cheap cup of coffee. All loneliness and nothing more. At least that’s what he had told himself to keep himself safe, both of them.

But he had anyway. And for all he remained friendly and warm, Reno had stopped touching him. Completely.

It had been over a month since their failed attempt to sabotage Avalanche. 3 weeks since the recovery mission in Kalm. The operation had gone south fast and both had sustained injuries. His were worse; it had taken two applications of Curaga to pull Rude back from the edge of the lifestream and 4 days to fully heal. He still had a sore arm, 3 missing Materia and the added realisation that he was deeply attracted to his partner. This was coupled with the complete certainty that at that moment, he had had a choice to make, for both of them and he had chosen wrong. The aftermath was excruciating, and neither had handled it with much dignity, so they had made the mutual promise to never mention it again. The idea being that things would go back to normal between them, but they definitely had not.

xxx

Another week, another assignment, this time a clutch of mutant Drakes was attacking settlements in the Junon mountains. They were amongst the many beasts and mutants that had been plaguing the countryside since the research lab expansion at Shinra Electric. According to witness reports, these ones were fast, unpredictable and vicious. The regional security forces lacked the resources to match them, and as time wore on the rural communities dependent on the pass began to run low on supplies. For this airborne threat, they had requested good pilots.

Thus, they had been bundled into a car at dawn bound for Junon, their first away mission since Kalm. HR had stressed that it would be good visibility for the Turk organisation. Finance had stressed that they would prefer to not see any more invoices from Reno. Reno had stressed a selection of creative things finance could do with the invoices. Rude was just stressed.

For the purposes of keeping a low profile, they had opted to both wear civilian clothing as tracking Turk movements was the number one pastime for Shinra’s rivals. Rude threw together an old sweater and comfortable jeans, knowing they would change as soon as they arrived at base. He struggled to not check out his partner. Through the unzipped duffle coat, he could see the skinny jeans and snug t-shirt that highlighted the sleek lines of his body and distinctive hair into a high bun allowed Rude an unobstructed view of the swan-like neck.

Conversation was still easy; they knew each other well and Reno liked the sound of his own voice. But the atmosphere held a tension in it that was foreign between them. And Rude had no idea how to fix it.

Reno himself was slower, less … focused. He was either sleeping at random intervals or restless, even by his standards. Whether he was tapping out a staccato rhythm on the car dash, going for brisk walks at every pit stop or twisting round in his seat unable to find a single comfortable position. While the timing was suspicious, Rude did not want to presume; it did not have to be about them. A succession of dangerous missions had put them both on edge, made them ask themselves some hard questions. Maybe that's why Kalm went as wrong as it did, hard questions do not have easy answers.

They had engaged themselves in only one fight throughout their route. It was with some gorgers; not their quarry but defeating it was still a public service. Which apparently, courtesy of the new HR director, they did now. However, the ferocity of his reaction when Reno was knocked down took even him by surprise, despite his chosen fighting style he had no appetite for violence; but the creatures were unrecognisable when he had finished with them.

“You okay partner?” Rude asked, still panting. They had not been fighting long so he must have been winded from shock. Reno was fine, he could handle himself.

He still could not tear his eyes away from his partner. “You really don’t like it when I get hurt do you?” Reno was still sitting where he fell, looking at him. Rude felt uncomfortable under the strange intensity of the stare.

“...No, I never have.” And it is true. Not that long ago, before he was aware of the depth of his feelings, even he found his protectiveness over someone who could (occasionally) kick his ass, odd.

“No, you never have.” Reno echoed; eyes still intent on his face.

“Reno?”

Reno blinked a few times and brought his hand up to touch bruised temples, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”

“You don’t sound sure.” Rude’s fist clenched with the desire to examine Reno’s wound for himself, he was not sure he was still allowed.

“I’m sure, help me up.” Rude stamped down the flutter of excitement as he reached to clasp the hand. Reno had not offered any voluntary contact in weeks. He might have hauled his partner towards him with a little more force than necessary, but then Reno did not immediately move away when Rude caught him against his chest. When had this become their normal?

“You good to go?”

Rude ran his fingers through Reno’s hair, savouring the slide of the soft stands against his fingertips as he checked for injuries.

Reno sighed into the touch. “We should reach basecamp before nightfall; we need to be well rested before we enter their stomping grounds.” Tension leapt back into Reno’s frame and he stepped back, transitioning into mission mode. “Two Guns has sent more witness statements. They’re a little old but we need all the information we can get.” Rude caught the tossed keys, and restarted the car, wondering what he had done wrong; again.

**********

They arrived at the crossroads before dusk, to stop at a greasy spoon for dinner. Reno who had only been awake for a few minutes was fiddling with the menu, uncharacteristically quiet. He flickered to life to engage in some light flirting with their blushing server. Rude counted down from ten reminding himself that it did not mean anything. Reno flirted with everyone, even him once upon a time.

Once the server left, Reno turned his attention to the mission. “You think it’s one of Hojo’s rejects?” He asked

Rude shrugged. He was busy watching Reno pick at the tray of chips in front of him, his jaw tensing each time Reno paused to lick remnants of salt from his fingers.

“I’d rather not have to call in Soldier troops for an assist if I can.” He licked a line of spilled ketchup from his forefinger, “they leave behind the worst clean-up.” And followed it down the webbing to suck the pad of his thumb into his mouth. Rude nodded, without hearing a word. As soon as Reno turned to handle the cheque, he took the opportunity to discreetly adjust his burgeoning erection. He had made a friend, the first in a depressingly long time, he was not going to make the same mistake and ruin a good thing over a stupid crush. Reno was distracted, not blind. There would be no more Midgar’s to escape to if this one went south.

Leaving a sizable tip, for the flustered waitress, they left to continue their route. It took them away from the Junon highway, into the narrow roads that would take them through the mountains to J4 basecamp.

**********

They arrived after dusk. The attitude from the guard transformed into deference once they presented their IDs for inspection. They had completed their journey without encountering the strange Drakes, which Rude had mixed feelings about. All the eyewitness accounts were so vague, first-hand experience would have been invaluable. The hope was the intelligence report would shed more light on the situation.

The base was small but busy. Situated next to the central pass, the troops stationed there patrolled the mountains and served all passing traffic to and from the settlements. The barracks were situated at the centre of the town. It was a tall square structure with rows of identical windows stretching over six floors, built for quantity not quality.

Being Turks, they were placed in the officer’s dormitories. This consisted of a private room with two single beds instead of the rows of bunk beds reserved for infantrymen. It was for the best, Reno did not react well to being woken unexpectedly, while hilarious for Rude it was potentially deadly for anyone else.

**********

As soon as the dinner bell rang the mess hall filled up with low level Shinra staff. Despite the best efforts to give the two Turks, now in uniform, a wide berth the room was soon packed, and Reno was forced to sit pressed up against him. It felt like he could feel, every shift of his shoulder, twitch of his feet and slide of his hips. Did he mention that Reno was restless as of late?

They made the decision to stick around afterwards to listen in on the conversations. Whatever else the mission, intel was always a priority; information was power, and Shinra Electric made sure to stay ahead of the curve. Most of it was as expected, mundane gossip, with plenty of talk round the mutant animals; any criticism of management faded once the speaker was made aware of the Turks in their midst. Rude could see his partner filing away anything of interest, complaints, factions, hierarchies and loyalties.

Rude himself was paying attention to general persons of interest, officers, store clerks, maintenance crews etc when he felt Reno step back into him. “Anything wrong?” He murmured keeping his voice low, he scanned the room and could not see what the problem could have been but bracing himself to support his partner.

“No, yes...maybe. It's not a big deal.” Reno replied, but he did not step away. Rude tried hard to not be pleased with the warm press of his partner against his front, reminding himself that he had forfeited those privileges, instead he followed Reno’s line of sight to a dark haired man standing at the far end of the hall.

The man was older, handsome despite the scarring on his cheek. He stood court to a flutter of admirers around him, men and women alike, each vying for his attention. All of whom he was ignoring in favour of his partner.

They were both accustomed to people staring at them, both visible as Turks, the Shinra attack dogs. But Reno was also incredibly beautiful, he had a natural seductive grace that drew the eye. Rude had found himself captivated more than once.

“You know him?” He had no idea what to make of Reno’s reaction. An enemy would provoke anger, a friend elation but this trepidation was something was rare to see in his partner, and never towards an individual person.

“Used to. I knew a lot of people back in the day.” Rude forced himself not to tense up. He knew what that meant. Reno had worked hard to distance himself from his Wall Market past, styling his hair, tattoos, new voice, new walk, new attitude. He had crafted ‘Reno’ from nothing. Whoever this man was, would not get to compromise that, not while Rude still drew breath. He would never disrespect his partner by questioning his ability to handle himself, but there was something about the way Reno pressed himself back into Rude, fingers wrapping round his forearm.

“You want me to have a word with him?”

“You don’t need to.” Reno said, voice firm.

That was fine but he wanted to.

As if sensing this Reno turned to face Rude, they stood so close that the motion caused Reno’s nose to leave a trail of tingling skin along his cheek before pulling back, “I can handle a few admirers, used to it in fact.” His voice was trying for sly amusement but the uneasiness in his eyes made it fall flat. He still had not lost his grip on Rude.

The man was still looking in their direction, eyes fixed on Reno with naked hunger. Reno’s thumb was rubbing maddening circles on his arm. He resisted the urge to curl his arm around the slim waist and pull him in, since there was little point being possessive over something that was not his.

A squeeze to his arm, drew his attention back to his friend, whatever else they were, they were still friends. He glanced down and whatever Reno saw in his face turned his expression from curious to something soft and unreadable. “Ignore him partner, I have no idea who that guy is.” Reno was lying to him, something he hardly ever did. It hurt, but he didn’t call him on it, choosing instead to trust his friend’s reasons.

Reno looked back over his shoulder in an uncharacteristically nervous motion, whipping his head back once he saw he was still being observed. Rude could see him glaring at the top of his tie, pale pink lips drawn in a grim line. “Look I’m going to call it a night ok. You coming?”

Rude nodded slowly, a little ashamed of the first thought that popped into his head at those words. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

After an uncertain pause Reno slid away taking his warmth with him. Rude watched him make his way through the press of bodies, barely disturbing a hair in his passing. Then he turned his full attention back to the man, who was still watching the direction Reno had disappeared in. Rude made his way towards him, the crowd parting for him like a school of fish round a shark.

The hangers on scurried away at the sight of the Turk in their midst. Good. Made this easier. “A word please Mr …?”

The man raised an eyebrow ”What for Mister Turk?” meeting a wall of silence he continued, “I make it a point to never have any business with Admin.”

Rude made sure his hands were relaxed at his side. It was not a punching type situation. Yet. Instead he used his superior height to look down at the man, holding his gaze for a few seconds before turning round with a deliberate slowness and walking toward the mess hall doors. He allowed himself a satisfied smirk at the sound of murmured apologies and heavy boots following. The Turk reputation had some perks.

The man looked around the deserted hallway he’d led them to, body tense with indignation, “Is anyone ever going to see me again? Because you see, I have these tickets …”

“Name? Rank? Post?”

“Braig, Sergeant, 1st Team, Division one response.” the man grinned, “You can repeat it to your friend. He’ll want to know how to find me.”

“Unlikely. Were you involved with the offensive against the mutant?” It was not a complete ruse, Division one had been amongst the response teams in the initial report, but that is not what this was about. Judging from the man’s sneer, he knew it too.

“No, I was getting drunk at the Fast lagoon with friends, and let’s not bullsh*t.” The dark haired man threw his arms out, “You want to know about me and good ol’ Ruby? How is he these days?”

“I’ll be deciding what is and isn’t about the investigation.” Rude took a deliberate step forward, “And his name is Reno.”

Braig wisely lowered his arms but stood his ground “So I’ve heard.”

Rude knew his face did not betray the annoyance he felt, but he was still annoyed that the man could get under his skin so easily. “How do you know each other?”

“He didn’t tell you?” He tapped a finger against his lips, hand on his hip in mock thought. “You could always ask him. Or are we insecure about our boyfriend’s loyalties? Should I be flattered?”

“I won't ask again.”

“Drop the 2 gil bouncer routine, I’m not a wet eared recruit. Me and ‘Reno’ were friends, extremely good friends.” The last word drawn out. Braig stared unflinching into Rude’s shades; chin raised in challenge. From four feet away.

Rude bristled at the implication behind the words. “Stay away from him.” He said, even though he knows he doesn’t have that right, Reno wasn’t his. Rude turned to go, any more of this and he will smash the stupid face in. And he was not ready to deal with that particular lecture from Tseng.

“Assuming there’s trouble in paradise, you let him know that I said to double his rate, he was always worth it.” Rude paused, Four feet was nothing. 1st team or no, if Rude had been even a little less disciplined than he was, Braig’s skull would be little more than a red smear against the hospital blue walls.

Instead he smiled, “I’ll be sure to let my _colleague_ know.” He did not know what expression he had on his face when he turned round but the look of apprehension that had settled on Braig’s face showed that the weight of the threat had landed. Good. “See you round the Base.” He turned back to walk toward the mess hall doors, making his way to the dormitories. He had more important concerns waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys hit choppy waters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still updating on Thursday's it's just chapter 2 was done so I figured I might as well post it. Chapter three will be posted next week.

He didn’t want to mention his confrontation with Braig in case Reno feels he overstepped. But he did want some answers. Answers that Braig refused to volunteer and Rude fearing it would reveal too much to a rival, didn’t press him for.

Years of working as a covert operative had taught Rude to enter and exit any room as silently as possible. It had saved his life many times in the past and he had never had cause to regret it. Until now.

Through the window at the other end of the room, Rude could see ominous clouds gathering on the horizon. But he barely registered the stormy weather in the distance in the face of the vision that greeted him. Reno was sprawled topless across the bed, acres of milk white skin glowing translucent with each flash of lightning across the sky. His chest was flushed, nipples peaked and inside thin pyjama trousers, his hand worked itself in an obvious motion. The accompanying soft moans sent sharp pangs of lust through him. His eyes started to water, refusing to shut in case the vision in front of him turned out to be a dream. His dick took interest as well throbbing sympathetically to each tortuous glide of Reno’s fist beneath the material.

Caught up in the sight, he did not notice the door behind him begin to swing shut till it closed with an audible click.

Immediately Reno yanked his hand out and scrambled to sit up eyes wide and face red. He let out a loud squawk as he hit his still tender head on the windowsill, “Ah f**k sorry, you were taking a while and I -.” Reno clutched his head and pulled the cover tight around him looking at Rude with some trepidation, “You gonna say something? It’s not getting less awkward”

Rude tried to not look too guilty, having not been the one to shut the door. He had no idea how long he had been rooted to the spot or how long he would have stayed there.

“Not a big deal.” He said. He took off his glasses and folded them back into its pocket with fastidious care, using the time to calm himself down. He almost felt bad for how grateful he was for Reno’s ‘deer in headlight expression’ , the ice blue eyes scanning his face. Because if he looked down even for a moment, he would see that Rude was not nearly as unaffected as he was pretending.

“Maybe but it is pretty embarrassing.” Reno, who was hardly ever embarrassed, much to Tseng and Veld’s consternation, was still bright red.

“It happens," Rude regretted taking off his glasses, as it left him unable to glance down to guage how far down that blush went, "I’ve slept in my fair share of dormitories. Traumatised a few dudes in the process.” 

“Lucky them,” Reno looked out the window and wrapped his hand around his knees, obscuring Rude’s view of his torso.

He did not know how to respond to that. Right now, though, he could not think of anything. He excused himself to go to the bathroom. Already feeling sleazy for ogling his partner after catching him in such an intimate moment, he needed to deal with this fierce erection he was losing a fighting battle against. The vision of Reno masturbating bathed in moonlight forever seared into his eyeballs.

When he returned he felt a little bit more in control. It helped that Reno had put on a white t-shirt. He had shifted position and was gazing out of the window; legs curled up behind him and feet tucked under the soft pert globes of his ass. Rude tore his gaze up, he had to remember that he wasn't’ wearing his glasses right now. 

“Your admirer downstairs, name’s Braig. A sergeant.” He perched on the bed next to him and kept his voice light. “Good looking guy.” Rude had no idea why he had said that, but now he had, the answer seemed very important.

Reno turned to look at him. “You think so?”

Rude shrugged, “His fan club seems to think so.”

“Not my type.”

“Mine neither.”

Reno’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, “Rude you didn't”, he groaned, “of course you did”. Despite the theatrics there was fondness in his voice.

Rude’s heart fluttered in his chest at the sight of the exasperated grin directed at him. Reno’s smile was sunny, his posture relaxed, and his eyes twinkled with a conspiratorial humour, projecting a camaraderie that soothed the ache in Rude that he had been trying to ignore. This was familiar despite the earlier encounter, it was ‘normal', the most it had been in a while. Maybe this was what they had needed, time away with each other, to remind them how good they were... together. At that thought the image of Reno pleasuring himself, pale and wanton surged unbidden into his mind, causing his spent cock to twitch.

Rude warred with the urge to kiss him, it would be the opposite of getting back to normal. And yet, he reached out to run his fingers lightly against Reno’s head where the bruise, since cured, had sat. Reno’s breath quickened, eyes never leaving his face. Using his thumb to trace the slightly parted lips, he almost groaned at the memory of them sliding feverishly against his, in what seems like an eon ago, in Kalm. He continued the caress across the line of Reno’s jaw, down over a delicate shoulder, and allowed himself to arrive at a decision. He was not going to make the same mistake this time. his hand continued its journey down the acres of soft creamy skin, they were good together and there’s no point running from it. Fingers trailing across the sharp jut of clavicle, this time he was going to -

His hand was halted by a firm grip. Rude looked up from the path of his fingers to meet Reno’s blank look.

“What did Braig say?” Reno asked.

Rude extracted his hand from Reno’s grip with exaggerated care, “You want to talk about him now?”. He had thought-. It did not matter what he had thought, it had been wrong. “Was that what all this -” he gestured in the direction of Reno’s crotch, voice steady despite his heart seizing up in his chest, “was about.” 

“F**k you Rude, answer the question. He said something to you, and I want to know what it was...” the calm in Reno’s voice belied the tension in his body.

Rude had learnt that Reno, ever in motion, was only ever this still when he was truly pissed. Too angry with himself to attempt to pacify the situation, he stood up to leave the room. He will deal with whatever this was when he got back.

Reno stood with him and grabbed his arm. “What did he want?”

“Ask him.” Rude shrugged out of the hold; for the first time Reno’s touch was unwelcome.

“I’m asking you.” It was the hint of desperation in Reno’s voice that brought on a wave of despair. Was one chance really all he got, one mistake and Reno rushed to the first sleazy ex that turned up. Or would he never have been enough?

“You were friends, right? 1st Team, Division one response”, Rude couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice, “He said you’d want to know.”

He’d inadvertently hit a nerve because Reno stepped right up into his face, and hissed “At least I have friends. Because between me and your cactus, the list is not looking great. Shrinking even.”

“Reno I-.” He'd left behind all his previous friends he’d known since childhood, where 'shy Rude' was normal, happy. Moving to Midgard had been hard. Big and strong, shyness had been read as hostility. No one had wanted to talk about crop rotations, bird sightings or any of the hundred things that formed the bread and butter of his old village life. In the big city no one wanted to know you, not in any way that mattered. Not knowing how to boast, or banter, or flirt he had grown more isolated, withdrawing into himself, until the Turks, until Reno.

“Name me one person who could pick you out of a line up without your uniform, huh? That's what the hel I thought.”

It was a low blow and Reno knew it. Rude took in the bright blue eyes, angular cheekbones and rose tinged lips and felt a wave of anger at himself for the bolt of lust that still struck through him. “You ex said.” Rude bit out, he was too sad and angry for this, “That you should double your rate.” And as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

Reno was livid, "Is that what this," He stepped forward and gripped at Rude through his trousers, cock shamefully leaping into the touch, "was all about? Because let me tell you -" He had wanted Reno's hands on him, just not like this. ‘“I’ve had my share of ‘friends’ like you and-” This was bad, no matter how angry he had been, he knew better. "-Tseng doesn't even begin to pay you enough to -"

This was all wrong. With a firm grip on the slender wrist Rude pried Reno off him, wincing internally at the scrape of retreating nails. "It's not about that." He stepped forward to cup Reno's face in his hands, staring deep into wet blue eyes, “It will never be about that.” He resisted Reno’s half-hearted attempt to pull his head away, willing him to see his sincerity. “Not with me. Ever.”

Reno held his gaze for a few seconds, anger melting away into something sad. Rude wanted to keep him there, to find a way to make it right but he did not know how. This was so much worse than last time.

“Thank you for letting me know.” He murmured, removing his head from Rude’s hold, “I’ll be sure to discuss it with him.” The murderous look that entered Reno’s eye spoke of danger for him or Briag he could not tell, maybe both.

Reno grabbed the rucksack at the foot of his bed and disappeared into the bathroom without another word.

Rude pulled up his suitcase to start changing into his own pyjamas. He was hurrying to pull the faded shirt over his bare chest to ward off the chill, while trying to figure out how to fix this, when he felt the weight of Reno’s gaze on him. He glanced up and there he was in the doorway, back in the t-shirt and jeans from earlier. Rude struggled not to stare. Without a word Reno vanished back into the bathroom, a few moments later Rude heard the toilet flush.

“I’m going out for a walk.” Reno slightly red faced, grabbed his coat from where he had left it on the floor and headed towards the exit.

Rude stood next to the bed, awkward “I’m sorry, I-”

“F**k you.” The door slammed shut behind his partner, leaving Rude wondering how things got so bad so fast. Through the window he could see the rain tipping down outside. Fitting.

**********

It was late, and Reno hadn’t returned, Rude wasn’t concerned for his safety, he was concerned about what would be left of their relationship when he did. Tomorrow they would need to scout across the mountains looking for signs of the Drake nest. A tedious task. The terrain was dotted with ruins dating back from the war with Wutai. This is coupled with the more recent abandoned settlements, their populations fleeing for the more prosperous towns supplied by Shinra Electric. It is also not helpful that given little sleep, Reno was hardly filled with the milk of human kindness at the best of times. Rude was not looking forward to navigating that.

As midnight was closing, the lights went out and an evacuation alarm went off. Fearing the worst, he grabbed the mission case. It contained Materia, weapons, case files along with miscellaneous items they might need. Pulling on a pair of sturdy boots and shrugging a raincoat over his pyjamas, Rude filed outside with the rest of the residents.

There had been a pipe burst in the basements. Floors 1 through 3 were flooded, apparently the current maintenance crew was full of newbies.

Rude breathed a sigh of relief, with the adrenalin leaving his system he began to feel the chill from the heavy rainfall around him. The air temperature was low and where his raincoat ended, his exposed flannel trousers were getting soaked.

“Hey Rude, what in the nine realms is going on?” Rude turned towards the familiar voice to see his partner weaving his way through the crowd towards him. “You ok?”

He was not naive enough to believe that all was forgotten but, he still soaked up the look of concern on his partners face, so far from the sadness and anger from earlier. “Yeah,” he said, keeping his voice low, hesitant to break the mood, “the place is flooded.”

“Oh.” Reno replied. Then he looked away and folded his arms, as though remembering he was supposed to still be angry with Rude. A tense silence stretched out between them until a group of yellow vested attendants came out to reorganise everyone into groups. Shouting over the grumbling masses to make themselves heard. A nervous middle aged lady with ageing roots came out to meet them, repeating apologies on behalf of J4 management, despite Reno’s assurances of no hard feelings.

“All the staff are being moved to B and E block,” She explained, scanning her card for the 5th floor. They followed her through successive security doors, exhaustion dogging their steps, as she explained that space was tight since the base was overdue for an expansion. She even offered to show them some of the younger members were sleeping on spare mattresses in the rec room as some sort of proof.

“Ma'am that will not be necessary. We at the Shinra department of administrative affairs understand your issues. We would also super-duper like to rest up for the night so if you’d just show us our bunk bed or mattress or other sleeping implement, we’ll call it even.” Reno was losing patience as they followed her through numerous hallways, and to be honest, so was Rude, they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. But the lady was only trying to do her job, so he walked up close and placed a warning hand on Reno’s waist, murmuring in his ear to watch his tone. Reno flinched and shot him a startled look. He was pushing his luck here; Reno’s considerable temper could flare up at any moment. Yet, the flame haired man did not move away, so Rude allowed his hand to linger for a few moments more before removing it. Reno opened and closed his mouth a few times before opting for silence, but he kept glancing sideways at Rude when he thought he wasn't being observed. Yeah they were going to have to talk about it after all.

“...secure a spare room, a Captain's room might I add, we spared no expense for our esteemed colleagues from central. B...but...I’m afraid that the shortages mean that...uh -'' She tried the key a few times before finally managing to swing the door open. Rude took great care to ensure his face was expressionless.

“I’m ready to turn in, what’s the hold up, can you please … what in hades is this?!?” Reno ignored the woman's stuttered apology in favour of staring wide eyed into the room.

The room was genuinely nice, with a three-seat sofa, in front of a deep shag pile rug facing a lit fireplace. There was a small writing desk next to a set of bookshelves at the other side of the room separated by a bamboo partitioning. Through another open door they could make out the bathroom suite with a separate bath and shower. A fact that was impossible to appreciate in the looming presence of the queen size bed, singular, one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliff hanger. But it's only for a while. Unfortunately our boys still have a few issues to work out but they'll make up soon I promise.
> 
> The timeline adjustment is because the way the characterisation has worked, this version of Rude and Reno don't know each other well enough yet. They're still early in their partnership.
> 
> Anyway let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get better, then they don't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating has gone up. If you don't like smut feel free to skip between the ________ markers.
> 
> I did a huge style change and went back to redo chapter one and two. Same story so no need to re read them, no idea if that's helped or ruined them tho.

Rude kept glancing at the sight of Reno, in boxer briefs and the not very big t-shirt he'd gone out in, stretched out in front of the fireplace. His jacket and jeans were laid out to dry with the other clothing that the courier had delivered earlier. Judging from the smell most of it will still have to be sent to the laundry room tomorrow.

“I’ll take the couch.” He offered. “Then we can swap.”

“Do whatever you want. I’m not going to jump you.” Reno said. The weariness in Reno’s voice stung. He had since made peace with the fact that his feelings for his partner ran deeper than mere lust or admiration. They probably had for some time, but he had been too mired in denial to take the opportunity when it presented itself.

Reno crossed the room to slip under the covers. Rude noticed the way the damp fabric clung to toned muscles, stretching tight over peaked nipples. 

Even if Reno did not want him anymore, and he had every right not to, they still needed to talk. Rude bought himself some time by sweeping the room for any bugs or surveillance equipment. He found two, both Turk issued, so he tossed them in a drawer to be replaced once they left.

Over the course of their many missions, they have had to share sleeping arrangements more than once. But those had been under different circumstances.

Arriving at a not completely altruistic decision, he slid into the other side of the bed, careful to keep himself a respectable distance away. The howl of the wind outside was the only sound in the room as they lay side by side in stiff silence. This time they were just going to talk, nothing more. He glanced sideways at the unmoving figure next to him, Soon. 

“Hey about-”

“I wanted-”

His heart leapt as Reno huffed a laugh at their simultaneous attempts to break the silence. “I’ll go first.” He said, propping himself on his elbow to face Rude, “then you.”

Rude nodded, pinned in place by piercing blue eyes.

He watches Reno’s expression turn from amused to contrite, “Sorry I made fun of you for having no friends.” He offers, “It’s not true. We all love you.” Reno groans and disappears from view as he flops back onto the bed, realising what he had said, that doesn’t stop Rude’s treacherous heart from leaping in his chest, “what I meant to say,” the last words came through muffled by the pillow, “is me, Elena, Tseng, Rufus we all think that… you’re really great.”.

Rude just looks at him, with Reno’s face buried in the pillow he is unable to see Rude’s soft smile at the cute, yes cute, display. Rude would not dare mention it though. Reno was very attached to his kick ass reputation, well earned. “It's ok.” He offers.

“Tseng likes you better than me.” 

Rude barks a laugh at that, “He hardly makes a secret of it. Rufus likes you better though.”

Reno raises his head to offer a tentative grin, “Only because I'm always getting him into dangerous situations.” 

Rude allowed the familiar banter to bleed some of the tension from the room. He felt selfish for what he was about to do, but this sunny reprise was an illusion, they were still not ok. “We probably need to talk Reno.” 

“About what,” Reno sighed, for once looking as tired as he must have felt, “ We’re not talking about it remember, we’re going “back to normal.” He raised his fingers up in air quotes. “Drop it. We’ll forget this ever happened, that was the plan right? We’ll file today under awkward sex incidents that we don’t mention. Which is getting to be a habit for us.” He mutters under his breath.

“We've been partners for a while now Reno, I've seen it before.” Living and working in close proximity, sometimes for days at a time, it was impossible to avoid. No matter how much he had wanted to, needed to, to keep himself sane.

“You always wacked off immediately after before?” Reno responded in a mocking singsong. 

“Did you?” The moment of peace and camaraderie was gone. He had no idea why Reno was trying to start a fight again. Or why he was even responding. It wasn’t like them.

“You really want me to answer that?,” Reno shoots back “Why? So, you can turn tail if you don’t like it? Again?”

“Does this mean we're even?” He does not say. He reminds himself that he had wounded his friend, both in Kalm and earlier. Once with his rejection and then with his petty jealousy and bruised ego. And for Reno who hated being vulnerable, anger was easier than hurt. 

“At least, I’m trying here but you-” Reno rolls onto his back, arm pressed across his eyes, and does not say anything more.

It would have been easier to go with Reno’s suggestion to file it away, but they had already tried that and it wasn’t working. It is not like he had the friends to spare as Reno helpfully pointed out earlier. And even if he did, this one, the fiery man in front of him, was too precious to lose, irreplaceable. “I’m sorry Reno, about earlier, all of it, that was wrong of me.” 

“Wrong about what?” Reno in a lightning fast move, crossed the sliver of space between them to crouch over him, caging him with his limbs, “Use your words asshole. Wrong. About. What.” Reno was now inches from him, “Implying I’m a whore?” fury and hurt radiating from every pore. Burning. Passionate. “About kissing me? you made that clear almost immediately. About going back to normal? Yeah, I’d say that’s been a resounding failure considering your stupid fucking mixed messages. And then you just think you can ... ” He grabbed a fistful of Rude’s t-shirt in one hand, “I have no idea what you want. Idiot that I am I wanted it to be me and actually thought it could be but-”

Rude in a stunning show of poor survival skills, cut off the flow of words with his lips slipping his hand into untamed locks. He couldn’t bear to hear Reno talk about himself like that, especially knowing that he had put it there. It was a simple press of lips almost chaste, but sent a bolt of lust through his body, settling in his all too interested groin. He had actually wanted to talk, but with Reno crouched over him, encompassing him with his warmth and scent, he had moved on instinct. He may have to fix those. After lingering for as long as he dared, he pulled away, lips buzzing.

Reno looks a little stricken, after his response to Rude’s unwelcome advances the previous night, Rude might be in real trouble this time. There is nothing to say that Reno still wants it to be him. But it is, Rude had made peace with that fact, and he deserves to know the truth, “It’s you. You. I was wrong, about everything.”

“Oh.”

“That kiss wasn’t a mistake.”

“Oh.”

“I wanted it. I want you.”

“Oh.”

He looked at Reno, eyes wide and moth slack with shock, panting like he had run a marathon and tramped down the urge to steal another kiss. He did not look angry, and he hadn’t pulled away but Rude was learning. If he is reading the situation wrong again, he has to be ready to step away. 

“Can you say something?” By the holy souls of the lifestream, let him have gotten this one right. "Please." Reno's mouth snapped shut and his eyes sharpened to focus on him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Something.” Reno says and surges forward sealing his lips over Rude's, his tongue questing for entrance that is freely granted.

Reno savages his mouth and Rude’s brings his arm up to easily curve round the span of the narrow waist. He pulls Reno down, aggressive in his desperation. He is already hard, had been since the prospect of sharing a bed with a half-naked Reno started to look like a real possibility. He groans at the sensation of the ass landing on his erection. Rude tightens the first buried inside the soft strands of hair and separates their lips, pained at the way the dazed look on Reno’s face crumples into something desolate. “Shiva, sorry I forgot. Again. Fuck, Rude, I didn’t mean to-,” Reno attempts to pull away but Rude holds him tighter to himself, the grip hard enough to bruise.

“I hope not.” Rude trailed his hand down from the soft strands to tip his chin, bringing him back up to meet his eyes, “Because I did.” He says with absolute conviction. “I just want to take my time with you. Can we do that?”

Reno must have heard it, because after a brief hesitation he gives a slow nod and allows himself to be pulled back down. 

Rude’s cock is leaking inside his trousers as Reno grinds down against the hard length of him, moaning in response to his lips pressed against his neck. Rude comes to the rapid realisation that if he does not take control of the situation soon, he’ll embarrass himself. He massages the length of Reno’s arms as he trails soft kisses up to nibble at the skin beneath the sharp jawbone. At first, it’s a little counterproductive because Reno responds by pressing down harder, seeking his own friction against the muscular planes of Rude’s stomach. But it allows Rude the leverage to flip them over and trap both of Reno’s wrists in one hand, above his head.

He slips his other hand under Reno’s shirt to toy with his nipples, Coaxing stuttered mewls with each roll of the hardened flesh between his fingers. “How did you know?” Reno gasps.

He pinches one of the nipples hard and Reno arches into the touch with a breathy little whine that makes Rude’s cock throb. Rude continues the motion, drunk on the sensation of the writhing man trying and failing to break his hold on his wrists. “I guessed,” he’d hoped.

Licking a wet stripe across the hollow behind Reno’s jaw he presses down harder. He savours the solid feel of Reno’s arousal against this thigh. Pushing the slim form further into the soft mattress beneath them, he grinds his erection against the jut of sharp hips.

“How did I ever keep my hands off you.” Rude says, trailing kisses along the line of the long pale neck. He uses his free hand to reach down and clasp at Reno’s arousal, drawing out another strangled groan.

Keeping his touch light, he sucks bright red welts into the column of Reno’s throat, eager to leave indelible evidence of this experience on Reno’s skin. No more running or denials.

The thought flits from his head as Reno’s cants his now exposed cock into the pressure of Rude’s hip. “Wish you hadn’t.” Reno says, breathless. Rude fumbles round, pulling out his own heavy dick to lie next to the slim length before sliding his hand back up to resume torturing the pebbled nipples.

Reno turns his head to seek out Rude’s lips for a searing kiss. He pulls his leg up to curl around Rude's thigh, transforming the angle of the connection into something exquisite.

Rude in a quick motion, pulls the other leg up. He runs his hands up the inside of soft creamy thighs encouraging Reno to wrap them round his waist, pressing their erection tight against each other. He rolls his hips down, pulling twin moans from then. The pre-come from their leaking tips eases the friction of the movement into a delicious glide. He looks down at Reno still restrained by the grip on his wrists, uninhibited in his pleasure, uttering filthy praises. But Reno had always been like that, open and vocal with his emotions in a way that Rude had come to cherish.

Rude is more than halfway there, and Reno’s pleas to “Please make me come, I’m so close,” are only getting him there faster. He cuts off the string of cries with a deep kiss, all tongue and teeth, then reaches down to circle both their cocks in a broad hand. He enjoys the way he has reduced his partner to an uncontrolled wanton thing with just a few rough tugs.

However, he has no intention for this to be over so soon, so he relaxes his grip, and releases the wrists. Reno’s hands are all over Rude in an instant, running along his biceps, across his back and clawing desperately down his sides to rub his palms against the defined muscles of Rude’s stomach.

In a bid to ease the frantic motions of his hips, Rude wraps his arm back round Reno’s waist, coaxing it down to a slow, steady grind. He gentles the kiss, humming in contentment at the slow feel of Reno’s tongue gliding against his own. Deceptively strong arms come up to wrap around his shoulders and long fingers rest against the base of his skull.

Rude slides his hand across to massage the base of Reno’s spine. Moving down to knead at a soft plump ass cheek, he allows his fingertips to creep forward and tease at the soft wrinkled skin of Reno’s hole.

“Hey, wait,” Reno says, and he stops immediately, “I don’t have any lube or condoms or anything like that. Despite the rumours I don’t actually carry all that stuff with me wherever I go.” 

Rude makes a noise of displeasure and kisses away the self-deprecating smile, “I didn’t expect you to.” he presses a firm kiss against the fluttering pulse, “I have other plans for tonight anyway.”

Making his way down, he licks a long stripe over a firm pectoral sucking over sensitised nipples back into his mouth. He repeats this over again, worrying the erect nubs with his teeth until each loud gasp transforms into a high keening sob, before resuming his path downwards. He intended to take his time with this, he is going to commit it to memory every erogenous zone of Reno’s body, learn how to please him. Claim him.

“Tell me what to do,” he says, bending down to nibble delicately at defined abdominals.

“Suck me,” Reno gasped, “or touch me, anything, I just need something.”

He grips the two soft globes of Reno’s ass in his hands and shimmied down until he was face to face with the slim leaking cock, flushed pink and twitching under Rude’s scrutiny.

“Fuck Rude you’re killing me.”

Rude licks his lips in anticipation and pulls down the top of Reno’s shorts. This allows him the full view of the tight round balls and a peek at the puckered entrance. 

He hears the way Reno’s breath stutters, sees the quick aborted thrusts of his hips, seeking friction against thin air before feeling the two hands descended onto his head. After a brief caress to the skin of his skull, an insistent downwards pressure is applied in a very unsubtle hint. Happy to oblige, Rude parts his lips sucking harshly on the wet tip. Encouraged by the answering cry, he takes more of the length into his mouth, caressing the stiff organ with his tongue. He takes care to lave attention on the sensitive head savouring the salty flavour of pre-come leaking from the tip. Reno struggles up onto his elbow to watch him, his other hand still clutching at Rude’s head.

He tosses one of Reno’s legs over his shoulder for a better angle. Without any further warning, swallows Reno’s cock down to the root, giving a satisfied hum, low in his throat. Reno throws his head back and wails, no doubt feeling the vibrations along the length of his shaft. He continues to suck greedily at the organ, massaging the flared head, while keeping a firm hold on Reno’s hip to restrain the frantically bucking hips.

Between Reno’s sinful noises, the throbbing heat of the solid length in his mouth and the scent of sex heavy in the air, Rude can feel his own erection twitching dangerously, leaving wet trails of his own pre-come against his stomach. Taking his dick in hand, he strokes himself roughly in time with the motion of his mouth over Reno’s cock.

He looks up the line of Reno’s quivering form. The hand that's not clutching at Rude's skull is tangled in the sheets next to his head. His eyes are squeezed shut and head shaking back and forth murmuring obscenities with every motion of Rude’s tongue. Rude can feel his belly tense with desire, hot boiling lust gathering low in his stomach, he was oh so close.

He descends fully once more till he noses at red tufts of pubic hair. Taking care to maintain an almost viscous pressure, he drags his mouth back repeating the motion over and over. Reno starts to chant his name. Rude cups his balls, rolling them between his fingers, allowing Reno to thrust freely into his mouth. He moves down to press a finger against the tight furled pucker, rubbing roughly over this skin there. Reno tries to babble a warning and Rude's only response is to push down, breaching the ring of muscle with the tip of his finger. The heel resting on his back digs in as Reno arches his spine against the bed, mouth open in a silent scream, he floods Rude’s mouth with wave after wave of thick salty semen. Rude takes care to swallow every drop, before allowing the softening organ to slip out.

He lays a gentle kiss on Renos hip before pulling himself up alongside the still panting man. Burying his face against Reno's shoulder, he mouths desperately at the marks he left on the skin and rubs himself against the sharp hip bones, chasing his own completion.

“Here let me,” slim fingers grasp his cock in a tight grip and set a brisk pace, one, two three pulls. Rude comes with a deep grunt, painting long messy stripes of ejaculate up the skin of Reno’s arm and across both their stomachs.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He takes a moment to catch his breath enjoying the silence between them, the most relaxed it has been for a while. The day had been a long one and he was too tired and sated to move much. He draws in Reno tight, basking in the way he fits perfectly against him, solid and real, like he belongs there. The arm sticky with drying cum flung across Rude's chest, does nothing to deter his contentment. The sleepy kisses being peppered along his jaw taper off as Reno drifts off into a deep restful sleep. Rude reaches for his discarded t-shirt to wipe the mess off their stomachs, before drifting off as well.

**********

Rude woke up at first light on only a few hours of sleep. Before he opened his eyes he already knew that the space beside him was empty. The rumpled sheets long since cold.

There were lots of reasons Reno could have left, early in the morning, without waking him. Some of them are even legitimate. He fights the wave of despair that threatens to overwhelm him and instead resolves to discuss things with his partner when they meet. There is no point torturing himself with speculation

The laundry room delivers his suit within the hour. HQ sends word that they are investigating the origins of the Drake, ostensibly to guard against future outbreaks. Despite the empty rumpled sheets in the periphery of his vision, he continues not thinking about it as he goes through his morning routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll be a happy ending I promise.
> 
> Thank you everyone who's still here.
> 
> I realised I was using my short story style for a longer multichapter fic and I didn't think it was working. Everything felt a little flat, Hence the rewrite. If you can't tell, I just tried to give Rude a better emotional landscape. Anyway hope you enjoyed chapter 3. Let me know what you think of it. Better? worse? idk.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rude and Reno work through some misunderstandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read.

The storm was still raging a few hours later. Rude was waiting at the command deck entrance when Reno slunk in 30 minutes late, his neck healed. He immediately started chatting with the secretary and flirting half-heartedly with the security guard, the intern and Rude, doing his best impression of normality. The whole performance hurt, a parody of how they used to be before everything. But Rude didn’t call him on it. Reno had taken a chance once and Rude had shut him down, that could not be easy to walk back from, he should never expect that Reno would trust him with his heart again, even if he wanted him physically. The hurt was buried under concern as he took in the sight of his friend. While he knew that Reno was happy to disregard uniform guidelines, his clothes were usually clean and well cared for. But this morning his suit looked slept in, the smell revealing it to be from the flood damaged pile. And Reno himself did not look like he had slept at all.

Not knowing what to say, if anything, he allowed it to pass without comment and kept a worried eye out instead.

The security guard showed them to a small office. It is warm and well-lit with the sound of the heating system echoing through the walls. Despite the apparent privacy of the room, the walls are thin. Neither Turk doubted for a second that there would be dozens of ears, eager for any news or gossip out of the department of administrative affairs. Under silent agreement, they spend the next hours focusing on the intelligence reports, discussing the Drake attacks, and planning a scouting mission for the afternoon. The neutral topics, accompanied by the sounds of the tempest outside.

In no time at all the afternoon bell rings out. Putting on their coats, they leave to make their way down for lunch. Walking a few feet apart in spite of the bitter chill of the passage.

Between the portable heaters deployed around the room and the press of bodies in the crowded space. The mess hall was much warmer than the hallways. Rude commandeered a small table in the back corner, content to be ignored by the rest of the room. Reno took the seat opposite him, not removing his coat, looking, to the casual observer, relaxed and unruffled. But to Rude who knew him so well, his nervousness is betrayed in the shredded paper menu and the foot tapping out an irregular rhythm on the wall. Rude battles with his rising tide of guilt, he wasn’t solely at fault, but he should have known better. Of the two of them he had been through this before, he should have kept his hands to himself. At least this time this time Reno didn’t have a marriage he could ruin. 

They made a few attempts at stilted conversations but anything that brought with it familiarity was now clouded by the previous night’s events. Instead they do not stray beyond mission discussions. The last report they had read was dated under 36 hours ago. Scanning the local news reports, there was nothing about Drake sightings, despite the time devoted to heavy speculation. It, like everything else, appeared to be lying low in the bad weather. Even that tapers off into a more bearable silence.

Rude was the first to notice. Braig, either not seeing them or ignoring them, was across the room flirting with an ash blond recruit. Rude contemplated manoeuvring them from the room. A little selfish, he did not want them to have to face any more emotional whirlwinds until he’d had an opportunity to talk to his partner. Before he could consider it further, the decision is taken out of his hands. He knows the moment that Reno spots Braig. Rude can see the rising stress radiating out from the body across from him, destroying the carefully curated appearance of nonchalance.

Immediately Reno becomes agitated. He shifts around in his seat avoiding any possibility of glancing in the amorous pair’s direction. Under the wave of jealousy was a pang of sorrow for his partner. He doesn't know what kind of feelings Reno held for Braig, but he was clearly affected at the sight.

He wants more than anything to reach out and comfort the man in front of him, to find out if he was ok, but he doesn't know where to start. Not having any idea what they were or if the attention would be appreciated, how it would be interpreted, he allowed the silence to stretch out. Irrespective of what he wished, he was not Reno’s boyfriend, or lover or , a stab of pain seared through him almost physical in its intensity, maybe not even his friend. So, when Reno leaves his seat to pace at the opposite end of the room, Rude lets him go without comment. Instead keeping a watchful gaze on the pale withdrawn form, red hair stark against the grey storm clouds.

At the opposite end of the room, Braig begins to track Reno’s movement, paying less and less attention to the young man on his arm. Unaware of Rude’s watchful gaze he excuses himself from his companion. 

Rude convinces himself to stay seated as he watches the dark haired man cross the room to join his partner who is now staring out the window. Reno is too professional to startle but Rude can still observe the slight pause he takes before turning round. At this, Rude rises up poising himself to interrupt at a moment's notice. Until Reno meets his eyes giving a slight shake of his head. A little despondent, he follows the instruction and stands down. 

A few words are exchanged, and Rude watches Reno follow Braig out of the room. A few seconds later he makes the decision to follow. Taking care to wait a few seconds before standing up, he moves to find a better vantage point. It is not that Reno cannot handle himself, he only wants to be there for his friend if he can. Until someone says otherwise, they are still friends. 

Briag leads Reno into an empty room with Reno halting the closure of the door with his foot. Good.

From his position, Rude has a clear line of vision to Braig through the doorway but Reno is mostly hidden from his view. The voices are hushed and Braig is facing away from him, preventing him from lip reading to follow the conversation. In deference to his friend's privacy, he chooses not to rectify this. The older man is standing with his shoulders curved and arms crossed, defensive. Whatever Reno replies causes him to scratch the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Rude holds his breath as Braig steps forward, obscuring what little he could see of his partner from view. There's a gut churning pause in which Rude considers stepping in, held back by Reno’s warning and his own track record with disregarding them. Moments later Braig comes back into view walking backwards, arms raised in surrender, the electromag levelled at his throat. Rude leans back against the wall. The wave of relief washes away the tension of moments before. Yet, some unhappy butterflies remain in his stomach.

xxx

Braig leaves the room walking close by where Rude has hidden himself from view, not noticing his presence. 

Rude enters the small office to see Reno sitting on an ageing office desk. The room temperature is frigid, energy having been diverted to the communal areas, but it is private and quiet.

“Everything okay?”

Reno scoffs, “Like you don’t know.”

Rude does not bother to deny it, his very presence there is damning evidence enough. He braces himself to ask the next question “He kissed you?”

A long pause, “Yes.” Reno looks up, worry all over his expression, “But it wasn’t what you think. He wanted to ... to say sorry.” He lifts one shoulder, “Or something.”

"Something?" Rude mutters, frowning at the memory

Rude feels hesitant fingers against his chin, he allows them to turn his head round to face Reno’s stricken expression. Giving a deep sigh, he relaxes the muscles of his jaw. He had no right to be jealous, there had been no promises or real declarations between them Reno had not done anything wrong. Also, he never wants to be the reason for Reno to look that way; even if it’s never reciprocated, he loves the man. “Are you ok?” He repeats gently.

“Why? What would you do if I wasn’t?”

His heart skips in his chest at what sounds like an invitation. Reno’s expression has shifted to amused; his eyes hooded in semi mock seduction. Rude’s imagination lights up with ideas, some he knew Reno would appreciate, though not now, not while he was still fragile. As well as a few more ideas that he might not, depending on any lingering attachment to his ex.

He takes Reno’s hand in his. Meeting no resistance, he wraps his fingers round and begins to rub soothing circles into the palm with his thumb. Weighing his next words, he asks. “What happened last night?”

Reno pulls away immediately. “Is that what you came here to ask? Why? Do you want a kiss too?”

“No, not if you don’t want to kiss me.” Rude keeps his voice gentle, conscious of how thin the ice they're on is, “What I want to know is what I did wrong and if I can make it right again. I miss you; I miss my best friend.”

Reno deflates, “I’m sorry… I’m saying this a lot aren’t I.”

“‘Isn’t that my line.”

“No, it isn’t. The truth is, I spooked. I didn’t want you to think you HAD to stay because I jumped you. Again...” He gives a loud sigh “It wasn’t you. You were … great. You were great.” Rude exhales, a weight lifting from his shoulders. This was good, they would be good.

“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t be there when you woke up?” He makes sure his voice reflects the concern he feels, keeping any hint of accusation away.

Reno scrubs his face, running his hand through his hair. “Don’t look at me like that. It would have been easier if you did, trust me. It doesn’t get better; I don't get better. No one stays so I have no idea how to be there, be two instead of... me.”

So many missed signals and wrong conclusions.. After this mission he will have to find a way to sit them down and discuss where they are going, what they’re going to be. It won’t be easy but-.

“Rude, what do you want us to be?” He stifles the urge to laugh, typical Reno, straight to the point. Very good at cutting through bullsh**.

Instead he steps back from his partner and relaxes his hands down to his sides. He doesn’t want Reno to feel trapped for this. “Whatever you want us to be.” And he meant it. He desired this man in front of him, heart, body, and soul. But more than anything else he wanted him to be happy. Having had a taste of what life was without his friendship had made Rude ever more certain that he’d do nothing more to jeopardise that, no matter how pleasurable it is in the moment. Second chances are hard enough to come by, this may be his third. 

“I don’t know if I deserve that.”

He felt a red mist of anger descend. What could have happened to make Reno think like that, Who happened-? He moves forward to pull Reno towards him, but the man steps out of his reach to lean against the opposite wall.

Understanding a little better now, Rude keeps his voice measured as he says, “I’ve been your partner for a while now. You’ve nearly gotten me killed 3 times…”

“Twice”

“...three times, and nearly killed me once.”

“It was a GRAZE.”

He finally takes off his glasses and leans in caging the slender form against the wall with his arms, “Reno, I’m not going anywhere.” He places a gentle kiss on Reno’s forehead, willing him to believe him.

“Rude, please stop talking”

Rude’s fights the wave of despair. Caring for each other doesn't mean they were meant for each other, a harsh lesson already once learned. At least at the end of this he’ll still have his friend. And that’s more than he -

“I don’t want to start crying in a closet, it’s too cliché.”

Taking a careful look at his partner, he takes Reno’s hand again and leads him all the way back to the room in silence. Reno does not let go. They pay no heed to the curious looks as they pass, let them stare.

Xxx

As soon as the door shut behind them, Reno stepped in behind him to place tentative hands on Rude’s biceps and rest his forehead against the nape of his neck.

“Promise me one thing Rude.” Rude turns to return the embrace, looking down at the bowed head, “When … if you have enough. Can you tell me so I can…”?

Rude takes care not to tense up at the swift return of the red mist, not wanting to spook him. “Not going to happen” and says, himself hesitant, “I was serious when I said I wanted you. I probably always have.”

Reno huffs a sad laugh, “Even so. Promise to tell me.” He tucks his face into Rude’s neck, the only reason Rude hears the whispered “Please.”

“You have my word,” Rude concedes, acknowledging the importance of his answer to this partner, “It’ll never come to that, but you have it.”

Immediately Reno relaxes, body going limp, “Thank you.”

“...I’m going to beat up your ex’s.”

“That’d take a while.”

“I’ll make time.”

Rude feels Reno’s chuckle, against the skin of his neck, as much as he hears it. He rubs soothing circles into the narrow back. Reno shifts his head, so his chin is resting on his shoulder, the next words come out sombre.

“There are worse things around from the old days waiting to find me. That not even counting the fights over bullsh** I used to get into. That’s how Veld found me.” Rude nodded, they’d all heard the story of the kid that took out 12 guys twice his size. Powered by Mako and rage. “But I’m different now, a Turk, none of that stuff should be able to touch me.”

“The past doesn’t vanish like that.” That came out wrong, preachy, reasons why Reno was the one who did the talking. Changing tack, he brought Reno’s chin up, inching towards his face. He gives him ample time to stop the motion if it isn't what he wants, then presses against the lips, in a light kiss. “But if you want this particular ‘past’ to vanish, say the word.”

To his pleasure Reno lets out a peel of laughter and collapses against him, resting his head on his shoulder. Rude took comfort in the tension bleeding away from the shorter man. After a few moments Reno, quiets down. He takes a shaky breath, as though bracing for a blow “Braig and me, we were never friends. We had …” Reno tries again. “When I was in a tight spot, if I needed money, he’d-”

“You don’t have to tell me this.”

“I didn’t even like him”

Renos’ voice is strained, the desperation in his tone is painful to hear. “You don’t have to tell me this.” Rude is sure to repeat this firmly. Angry with himself for making the man in front of him think that he needed to do this. Reno doesn’t owe him anything, Rude’ can own his own jealousy. 

“I thought -, then what do you want?”

“Like I said, I only want you.”, he presses a gentle kiss to the corner of the frowning lips, “and I’ll say it as many times as you need me too, as you want me to”

Reno blushes bright red and looks away, “Yeah, same. You too.” He mumbles.

“Oh, this doesn’t look great” Reno extracts himself to stand by the narrow window. Rude allows the subject change in the face of his partners uncharacteristic shyness. That must have been as difficult for him as for Rude, maybe even more. Allowing himself to be pulled over to the window, he can see what had prompted the exclamation. 

“So much for reconnaissance today,” Reno says.

There was a mudslide on the mountains the previous night from the heavy rainfall. From the speed the clouds were moving the wind looked bad too, heavy and grey, they hinted at a storm that was due to pick up. The good news is that their quarry was likely trapped up there, the bad news is that any helicopter that went up in that storm would be trapped too.

There will be little chance of leaving any time soon.

Reno switches to mission mode. “I'll tell control to prep the long runner, any of the smaller helicopters will be tossed around in that mess”

Rude looks carefully at the rainstorm, “We’re not even going to be able to scout damage in Big Sam. I’ll sort equipment.” He places his hand on either side of Reno’s waist turning him back to look at him. “We’ll be more than ready.” With a reassuring squeeze, he leaves his companion to contact the engineering deck. He himself communicates the information back to Tseng over the secure line.

As soon as he returns he relays Tseng’s feedback. Hold position and bring the creature back for autopsy at any cost. Also according to Tseng, “Since we have free time this afternoon, we need to write up the mission reports.” They never do tell you about all the paperwork during the Turk recruitment drives.

“Ugh you serious Rude?” Reno looks up dramatically. Rude finally feeling allowed, openly admires the long line of exposed skin, “Ok but you’re in charge of Reeves’ anal-retentive dossiers. I’ll do the Tseng write up then I’m sleeping for a month.” 

“Is that fair partner? For some reason…” Reno started as Rude curls his arm round the narrow waist in an almost punishing grip, “I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

The mood shifts. Reno, Hooks one finger in Rude’s tie and tuggs forward to whisper, “Keep this up, and you won’t get any tonight either” a small peck to the stubbled skin of his cheek . “Or tomorrow night.” 

Rude allows one hand to run up the length of Reno’s spine eliciting a satisfied hum from the other man. This time he didn’t bother to resist the urge, heart light buoyed by relief and affection, he leans in to press a kiss to the smiling mouth.

The body in his arms surge’s forwards, reaching out to hold him in place, halting any retreat. Reno transforms the kiss into something hard and possessive, it was like being kissed by fire and Rude wanted nothing more than to be consumed.

He pulls back, smiling at the way the petal pink lips lean back in to chase his. Reno thwarted, retaliates by nipping at the sensitive skin of Rude’s neck and Rude seriously considers pinning the slender man against the wall and taking him there and then. Reno’s expression is not helping, clearly saying that if Rude doesn’t, he will.

Before he could swoop in for another taste, the lights go on inside the room. Half hard he’s ready to dismiss it but through the window, the lights across the base switch on as well. Alongside the rattle of the backup heating being replaced by the gentle hum of the central heating system, confirming power was being restored. This means that the weather must be clearing up, fast.

“Rude? Do you see that?” The winds they’d feared were blowing away the heavy storm clouds leaving clear skies in their wake.

“Looks like we’re good to go.”

Switching to business mode, they disentangled themselves from each other. Reno leaves first ringing ahead to hanger 3 where the long runner would be waiting for them. Rude follows, closing the hospital blue door behind them with a click.

Rude and Reno make a beeline for the hanger walking side by side in a relaxed silence. It's ironic that this is the most normal they have been together since Kalm. Their arms and shoulders brush lightly together, pinkies entangling in a loose hold. The remaining tension now carried a flavour of anticipation each glance and touch laden with promise. But the silences were comfortable and conversation easy. Normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't really proof read and posting this super late. Hope it doesn't suck. If there are any inconsistencies, let me know and I'll try and iron it out over the weekend.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think in the comments. This is my first plot heavy long form Reno/Rude fic, so I have no idea how my characterisations are holding up.
> 
> Also I don't actually remember Braig all that well so apologies, I just borrowed his likeness for the tale.
> 
> Any feedback positive or negative would be extremely welcome!
> 
> anyway I'm on tumblr @ phantomrosewrites feel free to say hi :)


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